LSA Honors Colleges

Colleges & Universities University of Michigan
1

I thought I would make a discussion thread for anyone who is thinking about applying to the honors college for LSA.

Here are the prompts:

  1. Patterns exist throughout the natural world—trees, waves, symmetries are all expressions of order. Describe a pattern or patterns that you find particularly wondrous and tell us why.
  2. Many fads have come and gone over the ages—puff billiards, letter sweaters, the mullet. Why do some fads last and other disappear into the dusty corners of history?
  3. “What’s done cannot be undone.” –Lady Macbeth. Or can it? What’s one thing done in the world that you would like to see undone, or would like to undo yourself?
  4. Waiting in line is a part of life—from the DMV to the supermarket checkout. It is possible, in certain situations, to pay someone else to stand in line for you. Discuss the ethical ramifications of ‘buying out of the queue’. (question inspired by the 2015 Honors Summer Read: What Money Can’t Buy, by Michael J. Sandel)
  5. Eve Arnold, a well-known photojournalist of the 20th century, once asked her grandson, “What do you hang on the walls of your mind?” How would you answer?

I chose prompt #5 and i’m going pretty abstract with it… do you guys think that’s a good idea? I’m sure they’re tired of reading thousands of essays that look like resumes…

Also, does anyone know about the difficulty of getting into the honors college?

2

Has anyone from the first round received any acceptances yet?

3

Not that I know of. I think it’s safe to say decisions will come out on the 3rd or 4th. But, with Michigan, we never can be 100% sure.

4

Does anyone know how selective the honors college tends to be? Also, I chose to go abstract with prompt #5 as well… hopefully that wasn’t too cliche a choice

5

@jazzer98 nothing is cliche if well-written :slight_smile:
I am serious, though. A topic might be written a lot about, but they are looking for creativity and good writing. So, I would never say a topic is too cliche in college essays, but rather that the WAY you write can be cliched.

Also, the honors college accepts around 25% of honors-college applicants. You have about the same chance of getting into the HC as you did getting into U of M.

6

I wrote about prompt 5 as well. Beginning to think that everyone wrote this prompt! :)) :-/

7

the problem with a 500-1000 word limit is I feel that I’m rambling… trying to focus this is pretty hard

8

Hopefully tomorrow will be the big day? Crossing my fingers.

9

@zeedoq tomorrow MUST be the big day, because the website says by midnight tomorrow. This is unless we’re deferred (which, as a religious person, I say “God forbid!”).

10

I did prompt 4 lol

11

What time do you guys think the decisions will be released?

12

Has anyone heard yet?

13

Someone told me that 3 kids have already heard, but it might just be a rumor

14

Received my acceptance!!!

15

@zeedoq me too!! Congrats!

16

Rejected :confused: ah well, at least I got into Michigan

17

But congrats!

18

Accepted despite a lackluster essay (IMO). Very generic - about how I’d like to reverse the political polarization our country’s seen over the last 20 decades (prompt #3). Oh, well. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

19

Accepted!! I can’t wait to be part of the honors program. Congrats to everyone else who got accepted.

20

@woah16 Don’t worry about a rejection! You can always join the Honors Program if you declare a Honors major later in college.